the day the world went away
by messenger bird
Summary: how did i slip into this? axel.roxas.


today, today we'll run away —

**the day the world went away.**

--

axel.roxas, roxas.demyx

—————————————————————

we must rip out all the epilogues in the books that we have read  
and in the face of every criminal  
strapped firmly to a chair  
we must stare, we must stare, we must stare

at the bottom of everything — bright eyes

--

The roar of the jet engines shook him to his core. He clenched Demyx's hand nervously, an involuntary flinch, standing still next to his companion and staring at the sky.

Demyx seemed to notice his lover's hesitation, because he leaned over to comfort him with a soft murmur in his ear.

"You'll be safe, I promise. I'll be with you the entire time in spirit."

Roxas nodded, worrying his bottom lip, his brow furrowed. His companion gently squeezed his hand.

"Come on, Rox, or you'll miss your flight."

--

They stopped at the check-in desk, hands still linked. After securing the information, Demyx turned to Roxas, who was staring ahead with a slightly sad, resigned look on his face. Roxas gave him a soft smile as he lifted from his reverie, the taller blonde's thin arms wrapping around Roxas' waist in a comforting embrace.

"Don't worry, okay?"

A nod; steel-blue and sea eyes locking before Roxas leaned forward, closing the distance between the two. Their lips pressed in a sweet, chaste kiss; after a moment, Demyx pulled back slightly and gazed at Roxas, his lanky arms still linked around Roxas' waist.

A tear made its way down Roxas' cheek, then another. His steel eyes were sad, loving, as if saying his last goodbye to Demyx.

"I love you, Dem…" His voice was hardly a whisper, choked by his sorrow. Then, as a reminiscent smile cracked his reluctance to leave: "'Parting is such sweet sorrow…'"

"'That I shall say good night till it be morrow.' And I love you too." His lover's ocean eyes were soft, understanding, and he could almost see the despaired thoughts whirling inside Roxas' head. "There's no chance of me forgetting you, abandoning you, so don't worry. I'll never let you go, Roxas."

And with one last kiss and a reassuring smile, Demyx was gone; the sweet taste of him clinging to Roxas' lips as the footsteps were drowned out by another plane's earthshaking roar.

Roxas never did like leaving home, and more importantly, Demyx.

He turned to find his flight, the tears still dripping.

--

It wasn't long until he was boarding the plane, glancing about for an empty seat and finding one next to a lonely redhead staring out one of the windows. When Roxas took a seat beside him, he only glanced up.

The green eyes peering curiously at him were intense, breathtakingly so. They seemed catlike, despite the pupils being round and not vertical; in fact, everything about him seemed feline.

His vermilion hair was spiky yet soft-looking, seeming to light up the gloomy light seeping through from the window's overcast view. The sharp angles of his cheekbones were pale, as was the rest of his skin.

Roxas couldn't help but stare, blushing slightly when the redhead's curious expression allowed a strange kind of smirk, one that was oddly relieved.

"You made it," he remarked quietly, and his low, soft voice made something in Roxas stir, something long buried, even as he pondered the words.

What could he possibly mean? He'd never met this strange, beautiful man before. Hell, he'd never even ridden a plane before this experience…

Roxas' thoughts were shattered when the redhead's strange smirk melted into a shockingly attractive grin. He watched dazedly as the redhead grabbed his hand, green eyes narrowed with affection.

"My name is Axel!" His fingers were dreadfully cold, Roxas noted, but his grip made him flush.

"But of course you remember me, Roxas. We're returning to Xemnas today. I can't believe I finally found you again. I knew I'd find you today, but it's still such a shock!"

Axel continued to ramble about various things, all including hearts and 'Nobodies' and some 'Organization' of sorts. Roxas couldn't tear his gaze away from those brilliant green eyes, only jerking from his reverie when Axel suddenly shut up and looked out the window.

Looking around, Roxas noticed that they had already lifted off into the air. Nervously he ran his fingers over his seatbelt, as if to reassure himself that he was safely strapped. He hadn't remembered a flight attendant telling them to buckle up…but then again, he _had_ been zoning out, completely captivated by the redhead seated next to him.

He was disgusted with himself for even thinking that this Axel guy was both attractive and good, albeit weird, companion material when he already had the loving, amazing boyfriend that Demyx was, not to mention the number of times Demyx had had to save his ass when he'd get into awful situations. Hell, Demyx had saved him the very night they first met, saved him from committing suicide and healed most, if not all of his wounds. And here was this Axel freak, tempting him away from his sole reason to love…

Roxas turned to shoot a glare at Axel, only to find the redhead's face not five inches from his own, an almost dreamy smile on his thin lips.

"Hey Rox," he breathed, green eyes as intoxicating as absinthe and refusing to relinquish control over Roxas' pounding heart. As for the blonde, he was frozen in place, shocked by the sheer boldness of this guy, and by Axel's warm, slightly pepperminty breath ghosting across his lips.

"Do you believe in this flying stuff? How are we up here, Roxas?"

Such an innocent question, and such an innocent look in those eyes, but Roxas wondered if the cold, spindly hand creeping to cup the back of Roxas' neck had the same innocence.

Or his thoughts, for that matter, which were, oddly enough, centered around a dark city with dark blood seeping into the sewers, dark shadows in the alleys, and even darker intentions.

Even odder was the memory of Axel; Axel in the midst of hungry flames, Axel walking next to him down a grey hall, Axel dodging a dark key-shaped sword, Axel on top of him on a dark bed in a dark room, the only light being those same brilliant green eyes, and even those held their darkness.

A pair of cold lips ghosting along his jaw jerked Roxas from his recollections.

"Axel," he said quite calmly despite his inner turmoil and that last mental image sending his pulse racing, not to mention the lips traveling back along his jaw, toward his own mouth. The only hint of this was a slight tremor to his voice.

"Roxas," Axel responded, pulling away just enough for Roxas to see his dreamy grin. "Dear Rox. Do you remember now? 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe. All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe.' The day is almost upon us, sweet Alice, 'O frabjous day.' The dark day that is still ours."

His cold lips descended again to press gently to Roxas' thundering pulse. Axel murmured mute words against the blonde's bloodstream. He lifted his gaze to lock with Roxas'. The blonde's stormy eyes were placid, almost dreamy.

"Roxas, Roxas, thirteen, key of Destiny, Sora, Roxas. Thirteen. You always were my lucky number and my sanctuary. Let us return to that nirvana."

Axel's cold lips pressed against Roxas' warm ones, and the blonde's hands slowly raised. They placed themselves on either side of Axel's pale face, and instead of forcing him off as both expected, they continued upward to comb through his red hair.

Neither registered the panicked announcement over the intercom, nor did they notice the people hurriedly grabbing their emergency breathing systems and double-checking their seatbelts. They remained locked in their almost desperate embrace, both almost afraid to let go.

Axel finally detached his lips from Roxas', the flesh almost warm; his grin was more breathless now than dreamy, but still held that half-asleep quality.

"Where are we going?" Roxas whispered, his voice more rasp than anything else. His stormy blue eyes were dazed.

Axel just smiled wider. "We're going to a party, Rox. A birthday party. _Your_ birthday party. Happy birthday, love. We love you very, very, very, very—"

The announcement came on again. A gruff voice, made hoarse and emotional by tears, apologized over and over. "I'm so sorry, folks, so so sorry, engine failure—" Static over the intercom, white noise. In Roxas' mind came a vivid picture of his left-behind lover, sea eyes so understanding and so, so soft. _Demyx. Oh, Demyx. I'm so sorry._

A pain in his chest, and Axel's words came back into focus. "—much, Roxas, we must run, we must run, dear Thirteen, we must go. Return." The absinthe eyes were wide, eager, earnest.

And somewhere, in their shared one-bedroom apartment, Demyx's book dropped to the floor, and his hands clasped over the hurt in his heart. Spoken aloud was "Roxas, oh Rox…"

The blonde knew this was coming, knew this was going to happen. His hand found and clutched Axel's cold appendage, refusing to meet his gaze, gratefully snatching the opportunity not to think about the situation at hand when the pilot came back on loudspeaker.

He seemed to be speaking directly to Roxas, in a voice eerily calm, a different voice. "There's no window for mistakes. This is the first day of your life."

Roxas just blinked, and Axel's hand tightened in his.

"Rox, Rox, the world's waking up." The redhead's expression was one of glee, almost childishly so. "We'll get down there, to the bottom of everything…and then we'll see it, Rox, we'll _see_ it, we'll see it, we'll see it…"

His voice melted into a single message, and a single past; the blonde knew, he knew now. He knew what once was. He knew the obsidian sky with the glowing heart was still waiting for him, and they'd return, they'd return. He'd remember his face and he'd return. He'd return where angels fear to tread; where they, the dark ones, belonged.

He could feel the turbulent downfall of the plane. Ignored it. Any minute now, any minute now and they'd be back with Xemnas, they'd fit back into the hierarchy, and they'd do their heartless deeds. He wasn't afraid, but happy, an odd feeling despite his lack of belief in a god and despite the fact that at any moment they could be wiped from this world. Erased.

He wondered what would become of his lover, his Demyx. Demyx would find a way to him, he hoped.

Roxas turned to Axel, finally, and bent closer. "Axel. Eight. I'm finally happy...I finally…know, understand…"

The doomed aircraft screamed in metallic tongues as it closed its distance with the earth. Roxas' lips touched the shell of Axel's ear, and the redhead's hand clutched the blonde's.

"I found out I am really no one."

--

* * *

finished. finally.

y'know, i really enjoyed writing this, although it was kind of just something to break the writer's block...partially roxas/demyx and partially axel/roxas. experimental. -shrug-

the influences:  
**romeo and juliet** : act II, scene ii (shakespeare)  
**at the bottom of everything** (bright eyes)  
**first day of my life** (bright eyes)  
**video kid** (the birthday massacre)  
**tuck everlasting** (natalie babbitt)  
**through the looking-glass** (lewis carroll)  
**thirsty** (m. t. anderson)  
**the day the world went away** (nine inch nails)  
**coma white** (marilyn manson)

but mostly bright eyes' 'at the bottom of everything'.

disclaimer: nope. none of it.


End file.
